A special introduction / David L. Uzzell

The launch of a new journal is always an exciting occasion. Of course, it is a very tangible sign that an area of scholarship is developing and that there is a body of work being undertaken that is of sufficiently high standard that warrants publication. It is also very auspicious, to use a word that I am very conscious has important meanings in Asian cultures. It is auspicious because it makes a statement not only about the present - and indeed past research - but it looks to the future as well. It is a statement of commitment and of confidence that this area of scholarly endeavour is important

Frameworks for risk communication and disease management: the case of Lyme disease and countryside users

Management of zoonotic disease is necessary if countryside users are to gain benefit rather than suffer harm from their activities, and to avoid disproportionate reaction to novel threats. We introduce a conceptual framework based on the pressure–state–response model with five broad responses to disease incidence. Influencing public behaviour is one response and requires risk communication based on an integration of knowledge about the disease with an understanding of how publics respond to precautionary advice. A second framework emphasizes how risk communication involves more than information provision and should address dimensions including points-of-intervention over time, place and audience. The frameworks are developed by reference to tick-borne Lyme borreliosis (also known as Lyme disease), for which informed precautionary behaviour is particularly relevant. Interventions to influence behaviour can be directed by knowledge of spatial and temporal variation of tick abundance, what constitutes risky behaviour, how people respond to information of varying content, and an understanding of the social practices related to countryside use. The frameworks clarify the response options and help identify who is responsible for risk communication. These aspects are not consistently understood, and may result in an underestimation of the role of land-based organizations in facilitating appropriate precautionary behaviou